Movies like Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok (1974)
The best movies like Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok (1974) are Mood of the Day (2016), Love, Lies (2016) and Obsessed (2014). If Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTo All the Boys: Always and Forever (2021)7.5/10 from 2,107 votes
- NewestHarbin (2024)Released 2024
- In KoreanMood of the Day (2016)Also in Korean
Mood of the Day (2016)
A train ride brings two unlikely souls together as Bae, a committed partner of a serious 10-year relationship, sees her world turned upside down by the charming playboy Kim. Seated together on a business trip from Seoul to Busan, the two find themselves on an adventure to remember.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove, Lies (2016)
Two best friends, So-yool and Yeon-hee, dream of becoming the top artists in Seoul together. But their friendship doesn't last long as Yoon-woo, So-yool's first love and songwriter, falls in love with Yeon-hee and her voice. So-yool's feeling of jealousy and inferiority towards Yeon-hee grows by the day, and she eventually makes a drastic decision to bring the two lovers down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisObsessed (2014)
A secret, passionate affair happens in the summer of 1969 between Colonel Jin Pyeong, trapped in a loveless marriage with Soo Jin, and Jong Ga Heun, the Chinese-Korean wife of Captain Kyung Woo Jin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this6/45 (2022)
A comical encounter between South and North Korean soldiers over the 5.7 billions won lottery that crossed the military demarcation line on the wind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmugglers (2023)
During the 1970s, in Kunchon, there were women divers who were able to dive without equipment, including two best friends Choon-ja and Jin-sook, Jin-sook's brother and Hammer. They always collected seafood under water for living. But, as fewer factories started to be built near the beach, the women divers started to have trouble with what they were doing for living. Without any choice, the ship crews decided to join the smuggling business in the water to seek a way for their living. But the smuggling business in their village got too big for Jin-sook's family to handle and the peaceful village was gradually broken.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGangnam Blues (2015)
Jong-dae and Yong-ki make a living by picking up paper and empty bottles. Both then join different gangster clan and becomes involved in a struggle of political interests over development in Gangnam, Seoul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAssassination (2015)
In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings, counter-assassinations, and a shocking revelation about one of the assassins' past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSend Me No Flowers (1964)
When a hypochondriac assumes that he is dying, he makes an elaborate plan to ensure his wife's happiness. However, trouble ensues when she misunderstands his intentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJapanese Mom (2017)
"Innocent face, D-cup breasts and perfect intercourse skills! Son, this is not your girlfriend anymore but your mother!" Ki-ho brings Yuki from Japan to marry her. However, he starts cheating on her with his ex-girlfriend in Korea. Min-cheol comforted Yuki and thought of her as his daughter-in-law, but one day he realizes he is looking at her as a woman. In the end, Yuki and Min-cheol have intercourse without Ki-ho knowing...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarbin (2024)
In 1909, several years after Korea is forced into becoming a Japanese colony, freedom fighters plot the daring assassination of Japan's prime minister during their quest for independence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo All the Boys: Always and Forever (2021)
Senior year of high school takes center stage as Lara Jean returns from a family trip to Korea and considers her college plans — with and without Peter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Foul King (2000)
Dae-ho is a timid, unproductive, constantly harassed bank clerk. He starts secretly wrestling and adopts the persona of the cheating villain wrestler "The Foul King". He starts to stand up for himself but things soon start to get out of hand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Interview (2014)
Dave Skylark and his producer Aaron Rapaport run the celebrity tabloid show "Skylark Tonight". When they land an interview with a surprise fan, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, they are recruited by the CIA to turn their trip to Pyongyang into an assassination mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Society (2018)
The story of the journey of married couple up the social latter. The husband is professor at Seoul National University who is running for the National Assembly, and his wife is a painter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhantom (2023)
In 1933, when Korea was under Japanese occupation, five people in Gyeongseong are suspected to be "Phantom" spies of the anti-Japanese organization.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrave Citizen (2023)
An expelled boxing champion, who now is a high-school teacher, witnesses intolerable violence and throws her first punch to build justice against it, while putting on a mask.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEquilibrium (2002)
In a dystopian future, a totalitarian regime maintains peace by subduing the populace with a drug, and displays of emotion are punishable by death. A man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this12.12: The Day (2023)
After the assassination of President Park, martial law has been declared. A coup d'état bursts out by Defense Security Commander Chun Doo-gwang and a private band of officers following him. Capital Defense Commander Lee Tae-shin, an obstinate soldier who believes the military should not take political actions, fights against Chun Doo-gwang to stop him. The conflict between the two grows while military leaders are holding their decision and Defense Minister is gone. In the midst of chaos, the spring of Seoul that everyone longed for heads to unexpected direction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisResident Evil: Extinction (2007)
Years after the Racoon City catastrophe, survivors travel across the Nevada desert, hoping to make it to Alaska. Alice joins the caravan and their fight against hordes of zombies and the evil Umbrella Corp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSex Game 6969 (2022)
Three married women had always been dissatisfied sexually with their husbands, and Hyoji, who recently divorced due to her husband's erectile dysfunction. They gathered after a long time and had a drink complaining to each other, and they received a business card from an unidentified handsome man, saying, "Don't you want to play tteok pounding game?" The four of them head to the meeting place and meet suspicious agents who were waiting for them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok?
The closest matches to Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok are Mood of the Day (2016), Love, Lies (2016) and Obsessed (2014). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok?
Start with Mood of the Day (2016), the closest match to Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok.
What is the highest-rated movie like Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok?
To All the Boys: Always and Forever (2021), rated 7.5/10 by 2,107 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok?
Harbin (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok?
Yes: Mood of the Day (2016), Love, Lies (2016) and Obsessed (2014).
How are movies similar to Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Special Investigation Unit: The Case of Bae Tae-ok, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.